With an absolute abundance of anticipated album releases in 2011, and specifically the fall season, one band releasing new material might be a diamond in the rough, sprouting from the burning hot desert of Arizona. Katastro is a melting pot of hip-hop, blues, jazz, rock, and just the right spice of reggae. Katastro has developed a unique sound unlike any other in the reggae-rock community.
Now, the foursome is prepared to release their most refined album to date. Come October 11th, Katastro will release their first full-length album titled “Gentle Predator”.
No doubt about it, Katastro is excited about “Gentle Predator” and the band did not hide their emotions when describing the release.
“This release will definitely be the most thought-out CD as a whole that we have put out yet. Usually we go in the studio and we still have some parts to finish writing, or lyrics, but for this one we went in having everything ready which really gave us the time we have never had to sit on it and think about exactly what it was we wanted our product to turn out like.”
Track List:
1.) Move Like Creatures
2.) Watch It Burn
3.) You & I Wait
4.) Alone
5.) Angels (live in studio)
6.) Fallen
7.) Gentle Predator
The first thing you will notice with “Gentle Predator” is the creative and detailed artwork on the cover, consisting of a peacock with its feathers firmly pointed to the sky—ready for battle. “The artist is Michael Tierney. He has done all of our artwork since we started and every time he gives us something new we are blown away. He is our drummer Andrew Stravers’ cousin, so whenever we get together it’s always really comfortable and easy to get a product that we are looking for.”
But the music has the detail and precision. “We all sat down and focused on writing a really good song as opposed to a bunch of good parts, the difference is in cutting out the clutter and adding what will benefit the song as a whole. The longer that we play together the better our musical chemistry is.”
Katastro went to work locally in Phoenix at Novel Motion Recording Studio and took their talents to the Golden State to record at The Den Recorders in Pasadena, CA.
“We became good friends with Joe Fikany (B Foundation), and we found out he worked at The Den Recorders in Pasadena Ca. With him as the producer and Eddie Ponce mixing tracks, we really couldn’t be happier with how they turned out. We had a great time, definitely the most fun we’ve had recording before, and in our opinion, the best quality.”
What you hear in the studio is the essence of their live show. The band did add keyboard backing to their album with the help of Eddie Ponce. “We really try to make sure that when we are in the studio we record something that we can pull-off live. We don’t want people to feel like anything is missing in our live shows.”
Without a doubt, fans of Katastro will be pleasantly surprised with the band’s new single, as well as their entire album, including the artwork.
Katastro’s “Gentle Predator” will make an impression as soon as the album drops in October.
-Article By: Kris Siuta
Here is a video of Katastro performing new song “Watch It Burn” in the living room.